Tyson Fury’s father, John, has demanded an apology from Oleksandr Usyk should there ever be an undisputed fight between the two men.
Negotiations once seemed like a formality to make the four-belt contest happen, but public demands and deadlines saw things turn sour earlier this year.
Despite initially accepting 30% of the purse, Usyk’s team later withdrew from talks believing they were not being treated fairly.
John Fury told Seconds Out even that was too much for the unified champion, and it’s been prove by his $6 million purse for an upcoming fight against Daniel Dubois.
“30% was too much for him. He still stood to make £17 million at Wembley. It shows how much of a liar and a coward he is when he’s boxing Daniel Dubois for peanuts compared to it. Tyson will fight anybody, anywhere in the world, if in a business sense it’s right.”
He then criticised Usyk and his team for ‘lying’ during the fight talks, and demanded they post a video telling the truth if the fight is to ever materialise.
“I’ll tell you what’s gonna happen here. Until he gets on and makes a proper video explaining what he did, tell the truth, he may never get the fight with Tyson. It’s gone past money now with Tyson. It’s gone past everything with us. They are taking the piss.
He’s a nobody Usyk. Yes he’s won a few belts off AJ. You’ve seen how AJ’s been performing – he’s not performed for a while now … Tyson will iron him right out, and anybody in the game knows it.”
Fury senior called Usyk a ‘poison rabbit’, and doubled down on his demand, saying the Ukrainian must apologise for turning the public against his son, and said that his recent signing with Skill Challenge Promotions of Saudi Arabia proved he was only in it for money.
“They’re not good businessman. What they’re doing now proves they’re all cowardly liars, cause they’re off to Saudi. Saudi is a great nation, I’d love to like there, but everything what they’ve said so far has just been pie in the sky. There’s been no concrete offer anywhere, there’s been no money put forward, no deposits, nothing.
That little Ukrainian rabbit doesn’t want to fight Tyson, but what he’s trying to do, he’s trying to kill two birds with one stone. turn the public against Tyson – which they’ve done a good job of because the public’s daft anyway … and think the Saudis are gonna pay him silly money.
Well I’ve got news for you – you’re gonna wait a long time. Unless he gets on the video and tells the truth of what he did, there will never be a fight for Usyk … If it ever does come off, [it will be] when he apologises for trying to bamboozle the public.”
The two champions are expected to re-enter negotiations to stage the fight in the Middle East in December, as confirmed by Fury’s promoters.
Whether or not what was said in this interview will influence ‘The Gypsy King’s willingness remains to be seen.